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Thursday, June 30, 2011

A Touchy Topic: The Fetish Industry

It seems like everyone is a fetish model or a pro domme these days. Not that there is anything wrong with being either because technically I am both. But it is here in the fetish community where anyone can proclaim to be a "fetish model" or a "pro domme". In a way that is what keeps the industry fresh, allowing new faces to emerge on the scene. On the other hand, it is was what over saturates the industry and the concept that anyone can do it is a dangerous theory.
If every male out there believed he can play professional football then no one would watch the sport. People wouldn't idolize players or respect their talents. It is the same here and for every other industry. Chicago has over 100 - born female Pro Dommes. There's only 10-15 that I would pay for a session and even that is pushing it. I feel bad for both the talented Dommes and the clients because the talented Dommes get put into the class of "just another domme" and they loose out on money. The clients have a difficult time deciding who they should session with and in many cases get a really poor session.

As for the "models", just go on Fetlife and I'm sure if you clicked on 100 random profiles at least 40-50% of them would claim to be some sort of fetish model. Just because someone else took a kinky picture of you doesn't mean your a fetish model. Just because you're involved in the kink community doesn't make you a fetish model.

So where do I land in all of this?

Well let me just say, there is nothing wrong with being an aspiring fetish model. It's just all about how you go about becoming one. Proclaiming that your a "fetish model" before you've ever established yourself in any manner is preposterous. I've been involved in the community since I was 18 and I'm turning 25 on September 6th. I've been at this for awhile and just in the past year did I really start pushing myself as my own product.

The last and most important key to me is being a fetish model or pro domme is actually being interested in the BDSM - Fetish world. Most people who make it on some level in this industry are actually kinky. Kinky isn't wanting to tie a woman to a bed and fuck her, that's rough sex. I see it all the time, people think they are kinky until they are around kinky people and they realize just how vanilla they are. There is nothing wrong with being vanilla but a pro domme should be kinky. It's their job to make the client feel at ease and there are just too many pro dommes that are only in it for the money that they think they can make.
Many models also aren't kinky and that is a shame to me as well. If your not kinky and want to model - don't do fetish modeling. America is the best country in the world at selling a lie so I guess it's naive of me to think that the fetish industry should be any different.

Personally, it's been a process for me but the past year has been a good one for me and I expect to continue to grow and push boundaries. I will be at FETISHCON in Tampa Bay July 28-31. I've already schedule lots of gigs with several different people. I also hope to work some old friends that I've never gotten to work with yet like Nyssa Nevers. I've also been asked to model for a tattoo book so I'm excited about that as well.

6 comments:

I agree with you that a lot of people are proclaiming themselves to be things they aren't, but disagree on your idea that too many people think they're kinky when they're not. Everyone has their own opinion of what is kinky and hardcore, and just because one person is into more extreme kink doesn't mean another person can't call themselves kinky. I believe thinking that way is a negative view and suggests that everyone else should define themselves by your boxes.

I was actually anticipating a comment like this. It's not that I'm saying you have to be so "kinky" to be kinky. However, the term fetish is over used. Kink has become more and more mainstream with the internet and honestly people don't know what kinky is. In general when your involved in the scene you meet many people who don't want to learn and understand themselves. I'm not saying this is true for everyone but it is a common theme.

I can understand where you're coming from with that. "Fetish" is definitely overused, hell, even Fetlife uses "fetish" in a completely incorrect way when it comes to people's profiles most of the time. On one hand I appreciate that kink is becoming more accepted, on the other...well yeah, a lot of people don't understand anything about it.

I love this post, it is so true. That said I feel like pointing out some things to you from an economic point of view.

Thanks to you I have met some of the best people this scene has to offer. However I am aware of all the... others.

That said, you say there are over 100 pro Doms in Chicago however you would only consider 10% of them talented. This shows just how high the demand is for professional Domms. Any time that demand massively out ways supply in a completely unregulated market you will find imitations knockoffs and scams popping up by like weeds in an unkempt garden. Regulation and licensing (which is not about to happen to this market) can help but even then it will not stop.

However this can be a very good sign. First off it is a sign of how high the demand is, this is good because it indicates an under represented market with huge room for growth. I could easily see "union" of skilled Domms forming some sort of self licensing body. If they were able to cooperate and create an industry standard it would make life a lot easier on everyone. I could talk more about it in person.

Oh and just to be an ass I figure I will point out that the Merriam-Webster dictionary a model is defined as :a person or thing that serves as a pattern for an artist; especially : one who poses for an artist. SO I guess that even if you pay to get your picture taken by someone you are technically a model.

In 2012 I was featured in a short Documentary called, "Male Femdom" that was featured in several Film Festivals across the world including my college town of Athens, Ohio as well as the German Fetish Film Festival.